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Shandahr
=Physical Description= She is average in height, with the serpentine grace that characterizes the Sin'Dorei; every movement considered as to its effect on the whole. Cropped auburn locks frame a young, snub-nosed face, tumbling over fel-lit eyes as if to shield her from the world. It is the only hint of childhood to be found in the girl's mien. There is a practiced hauteur to her expression at rest; she seems to adopt and discard emotions at whim, settling on whatever best suits the tendre of the moment. Her clothing is as deliberate as her expression: rich fabrics dyed in black and gem-tones, chosen to set off her complexion and highlight her slender form, worn with an indolent flourish; the visual equivalent of fishing for compliments. It combines with her air of cultivated emotion to produce the sense of a carefully-staged drama, one in which Shandahr is determined to play the central role. =Personality= PRIDEFUL: Shandahr is certain that she is someone important, and she's out to make sure that everyone else knows it as well. Likewise, her perceptions are tainted by her need for her life to be more than ordinary. Her humble origins buried in deliberate obscurity, pride has driven her to construct a whole new past for herself; a house of cards she believes no-one will be able to penetrate. She is easily led by that same pride into overstepping the bounds of common sense - and indeed, even into far overreaching what she is truly capable of doing. MENDACIOUS: Despite appearances to the contrary, Shandahr keeps her secrets to herself. She's quite accomplished at creating cover stories for what she's doing, where she's come from, and who she is. Except for her name, almost nothing she tells you on first meeting you is true. In reality, the stories at the second and third meetings probably aren't either. She's been telling tales for most of her life - by now, it's almost reflexive. After all, the world seems to exist as merely the backdrop on which she carries out her story. INDOMITABLE: Once a plan has been laid out or an agreement made, Shandahr will see it through to the end. She'll deny she was ever present, lie through her teeth about her goals, twist it, warp it, tie it into knots, and abuse every loophole and nuance of the law, but it will be done. It's more than a matter of pride - it simply is the way things are. STUDIED: Shandahr is a planner - a meticulous attention to detail, consideration of contingencies, and a vise-like memory for easily-forgotten facts make her a formidable opponent. Unless provoked beyond reason, everything she does is done with careful forethought and intentionality, with an eye toward what her audience will think of her. =History= Origins Shandahr was born into a common family, one of a handful of useless daughters in the rotary service of House Tavor, the ruling house of the region. It's one of the rare truths she'll reveal - that her home was in the area now known as the Plaguewood, the area now completely obliterated. At a fairly young age, she caught the attention of the spoiled only daughter of Tavor, Solaris. For thirty years, Shandahr served as handmaiden to Solaris, her shadow and constant companion. She was spoiled and petted almost as much as her mistress, and her vantage point gave her considerable experience in how to be a young noblewoman. It all ended on the eve of Solaris's marriage, when the capricious girl dismissed Shandahr abruptly, prey to her jealous nature and her handmaid's pretty face. Shandahr didn't wait for a letter of recommendation - she simply packed her things and some easily-saleable valuables, and left. Warlock Among the things that Shandahr took - and the only remaining item of her old life - was a tome entitled On Demons, a book written by a master warlock in the days long before the Quel'Dorei learned to embrace demonic magic. Ten years of self-study before leaving Solaris's employ gave Shandahr a handle on basic Demonic and Shadow magic in an era when such practices were anathema, but the power inherent in the magic was one she knew was undeniable. Since then, she's taken up studying under the warlocks of Silvermoon, but finds them unbearably fatuous, and their connections to the Forsaken revolting. More and more, she heads to Orgrimmar to study under the ones who understand demonic magic best. House Rylath After leaving Solaris and House Tavor, Shandahr set out northward, and along the way restyled herself as an orphaned noblewoman whose parents had spent everything they had to give her the right kind of upbringing. Without land or house after their debts had been called in, she claimed to be looking for the house of a distant cousin to take her in. The destruction of Silvermoon and the kingdoms of Lordaeron by the Scourge left her with a perfect cover: there was nothing left of House Tavor nor of her former mistress. Her original family name was buried - House Dawncarver having been handily extinguished by the obliging Scourge, the lands she purported to have claim to were now a wasteland. And Shandahr continued inevitably north, looking for a House to sink her claws into. The announcements posted in Silvermoon regarding House Rylath's resurrection were a godsend to her. A quickly-concocted story about a distant cousin using the name of someone she'd briefly spent time with passed initial muster, and Alahandro welcomed her into the House. It could only have been better if she'd succeeded in catching his eye before Feyla Deepwood, but Shandahr was caught unprepared by the announcement of their engagement, leaving her - she initially thought - back in a powerless position. But Feyla was hardly prepared to enter Silvermoon nobility, and it was almost instinctive for her to turn to the source of information at hand. Never one to turn down an opportunity, Shandahr found herself at the right hand of the House once more - but this time, as an advisor. As Feyla has begun to rely more and more heavily on her guidance, placing her in the good graces of Lord Alahandro as well, Shandahr has found herself in possession of a much more subtle and potent power than she'd originally aimed for. The Deepwoods The flaw in what would otherwise seem a flawless plan came in the person of Vathryn Deepwood, Feyla's brother and an unprincipled rogue. It seemed ideal to tie herself to the family after Feyla and Alahandro's engagement was announced by courting Vathryn's affections at the time - and with Rylath's power and her own understanding of the Houses and court, Shandahr was certain she could make a lord of him, in time. Vathryn took the bargain - his hand for Shandahr's body - but he's taking his time about following through with it. In the meantime, the relationship between the two is a constant fencing match, in and out of bed - and Shandahr seems to have met her manipulative equal. Much to her surprise, she's grown fond of both Deepwoods, and her emotional ties to them have left her vulnerable. It's a vulnerability that Vathryn seems more than willing to exploit.